Virat Kohli

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Virat Kohli

Name:-Siddhesh Nagvekar
Class:-FYBMS
Div:-B
Roll No. :-41
Seat No. :-BMS1108
Early life

Virat Kohli was born on 5 November 1988 in New Delhi into a Punjabi Hindu
family. His father, Prem Kohli, worked as a criminal lawyer and his mother,
Saroj Kohli, is a homemaker. He has an older brother, Vikash, and an older
sister, Bhavna.
Kohli was raised in Uttam Nagar and started his schooling at Vishal Bharti
Public School. In 1998, the West Delhi Cricket Academy was created and a
nine-year-old Kohli was part of its first intake. Kohli trained at the academy
under Rajkumar Sharma and also played matches at the Sumeet Dogra
Academy at Vasundhara Enclave at the same time. In ninth grade, he shifted to
Saviour Convent in Paschim Vihar to help his cricket practice. His family lived
in Meera Bagh until 2015 when they moved to Gurgaon. Kohli's father died on
18 December 2006 due to a stroke after being bed- ridden for a month.
Youth and domestic career

Delhi

Kohli first played for Delhi Under-15 team in October 2002 in the 2002– 03
Polly Umrigar Trophy. He became the captain of the team for the 2003– 04
Polly Umrigar Trophy. In late 2004, he was selected in the Delhi Under17 team
for the 2003–04 Vijay Merchant Trophy. Delhi Under-17s won the 2004–05
Vijay Merchant Trophy in which Kohli finished as the highest run-scorer with
757 runs from 7 matches with two centuries. In February 2006, he made his a
debut for Delhi against Services but did not get to bat.
Kohli made his first-class debut for Delhi against Tamil Nadu in November
2006, at the age of 18, he scored 10 runs in his debut innings. He came into the
spotlight in December when he decided to play for his team against Karnataka
on the day after his father's death and went on to score 90. He went directly to
the funeral after he got out in the match. He scored a total of 257 runs from 6
matches at an average of 36.71 in that season.
India Under-19
In July 2006, Kohli was selected in the India Under-19 squad on its tour of
England. He averaged 105 in the three-match ODI series against England
Under-19s and 49 in the three-match Test series. India Under-19 went on to
win both the series. In September, the India Under-19 team toured Pakistan.
Kohli averaged 58 in the Test series and 41.66 in the ODI series against
Pakistan Under-19s.
In April 2007, he made his Twenty20 debut and finished as the highest
rungetter for his team in the Inter-State T20 Championship with 179 runs at an
average of 35.80. In July–August 2007, the India Under-19 team toured Sri
Lanka. In the triangular series against Sri Lanka Under-
19s and Bangladesh Under-19s, Kohli was the second highest run-getter with
146 runs at an average of 29 from 5 matches. In the two-match Test series that
followed, he scored 244 runs at an average of 122 including a century and a
fifty.
In February–March 2008, Kohli captained the victorious Indian team at the
2008 Under-19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia. Batting at number 3, he
scored 235 runs in 6 matches at an average of 47 and finished as the
tournament's third-highest run-getter and one of the three batsmen to score a
hundred in the tournament. He has helped India in a three-wicket semifinal win
over New Zealand Under-19s by taking 2 wickets and scoring 43 runs in the
run-chase and was awarded the man of the match.
In June 2008, Kohli and his Under-19 teammates Pradeep
Sangwan and Tanmay Srivastava were awarded the Border-Gavaskar
scholarship. The scholarship allowed the three players to train for six weeks at
Cricket Australia's Centre of Excellence in Brisbane. He was also picked in the
India Emerging Players squad for the four-team Emerging Players Tournament
and scored 206 runs in six matches at an average of 41.20.

Early international career

In August 2008, Kohli was included in the Indian ODI squad for tour of Sri
Lanka and the Champions Trophy in Pakistan. Prior to the Sri Lankan tour,
Kohli had played only eight List a matches. So, his selection was called a
"surprise call-up". During the Sri Lankan tour, as both first-choice openers
Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag were injured, Kohli batted as a
makeshift opener throughout the series. He made his international debut, at the
age of 19, in the first ODI of the tour and was dismissed for
12. He made his first ODI half century, a score of 54, in the fourth match.
After the postponement of the Champions Trophy to 2009, Kohli was
picked as a replacement for the injured Shikhar Dhawan in the India a squad
for the unofficial Tests against Australia an in September 2008.
Kohli, after recovering from a minor shoulder injury, returned to the national
team replacing the injured Gautam Gambhir in the Indian squad for the tri-
series in Sri Lanka. He batted at number 4 for India in the 2009 ICC
Champions Trophy because of an injury to Yuvraj Singh. He found a place in
the home ODI series against Sri Lanka in December 2009 and scored 27 and 54
in the first two ODIs before making way for Yuvraj who regained fitness for
the third ODI. However, Yuvraj's finger injury recurred leading to him being
ruled out indefinitely. Kohli returned to the team in the fourth ODI at Kolkata
and scored his first ODI century–107 off 114
balls–sharing a 224-run partnership for the third wicket with Gambhir.
India won by seven wickets to seal the series 3–1.
Tendulkar was rested for the tri-nation ODI tournament in Bangladesh in
January 2010, which enabled Kohli to play in each of India's five matches.
During this series he became only the third Indian batsman to score two ODI
centuries before their 22nd birthday. Kohli was much praised for his
performances during the series as the leading run scorer of the series with 275
runs from five innings at an average of 91.66.

Kohli's first foray into leadership on an international level was when he was
made vice-captain for the tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in
Zimbabwe in May–June 2010, this came about as many more established
players were rested for the tour. Kohli made 168 runs at an average of 42.00
including two fifties. During the series, Kohli became the fastest
Indian batsman to reach 1,000 runs in ODI cricket. He made his International
T20 debut against Zimbabwe at Harare and scored an unbeaten 26. Later that
month, Kohli batted at 3 in an Indian team throughout the 2010 Asia Cup and
scored a total of 67 runs at an average of 16.75. His struggles with form
continued in the tri-series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Sri Lanka
where he averaged 15.
Despite the poor run of form, Kohli was retained in the ODI squad for a three-
match series against Australia in October, and in the only completed match of
the series at Visakhapatnam, scored his third ODI century. Winning the man of
the match, he admitted that he was under pressure to keep his place in the team
after failures in the two previous series. During the home ODI series against
New Zealand, Kohli scored a match-winning century, his fourth ODI hundred
and second in succession, in the first game, India completed a 5–0 whitewash
of New Zealand, while Kohli's performance in the series helped him become a
regular in the ODI team and made him a strong contender for a spot in India's
World Cup squad. He was India's leading run-scorer in ODIs in 2010, with 995
runs from 25 matches at an average of 47.38 including three centuries and
seven fifties.
Kohli was India's leading run scorer in the five-match ODI series of the
South African tour in January 2011, with 193 runs at an average of 48.25
including two fifties, both in Indian defeats. During the series, he jumped
to number two spot on the ICC Rankings for Men's ODI batters, and was
named in India's 15-man squad for the World Cup.
Kohli played in every match of India's successful World Cup campaign. He
scored an unbeaten 100, his fifth ODI century, in the first match against
Bangladesh and became the first Indian batsman to score a century on World
Cup debut. In the final against Sri Lanka at Mumbai, he scored 35, sharing an
83-run partnership with Gambhir for the third wicket after India had lost both
openers within the seventh over chasing 275.

Consistent performances in international cricket

Breakthrough in Test cricket


When India toured the West Indies in June–July 2011, they selected a largely
inexperienced squad, resting Tendulkar and others such as- Gambhir and
Sehwag missing out due to injuries. Kohli was one of three uncapped players in
the Test squad. He found success in the ODI series which India won 3–2, with
a total of 199 runs at an average of 39.80. His best efforts came in the second
ODI at Port of Spain where he won the man of the match for his score of 81
which gave India a sevenwicket victory, and the fifth ODI at Kingston where
his innings of 94 came in a seven-wicket defeat. Kohli made his Test debut at
Kingston in the first match of the Test series that followed. He batted at 5 and
was dismissed for
4 and 15 caught behind off the bowling of Fidel Edwards in both
innings. India went on to win the Test series 1–0 but Kohli amassed just 76
runs from five innings, struggling against the short ball.
Initially dropped from the Test squad for India's four-match series in
England in July and August due to poor performance in his debut series, Kohli
was recalled as a replacement for the injured Yuvraj, though he did not got to
play in any match in the series. He found moderate success in the subsequent
ODI series in which he averaged 38.80. His score of 55 in the first ODI at
Chester-le-Street was followed by a string of low scores in the next three
matches. In the last game of the series, Kohli scored his sixth ODI hundred–
107 runs off 93 balls–and shared a 170-run third-wicket partnership with Rahul
Dravid, who was playing his last ODI, to help India post their first 300-plus
total of the tour. Kohli was dismissed hit wicket in that innings which was the
only century in the series by any player on either team and earned him praise
for his "hard work" and "maturity".
In October 2011, Kohli was the leading run-scorer of the five-match home ODI
series against England which India won 5–0. He scored a total of 270 runs
across five matches at an average of 90, including unbeaten knocks of
112 from 98 balls at Delhi, where he put on an unbroken 209-run partnership
with Gambhir, and 86 at Mumbai, both in successful runchases. Owing to his
ODI success, Kohli was included in the Test squad to face the West Indies in
November. He was selected in the final match of the series in which he scored
a pair of fifties in the match. India won the subsequent ODI series 4–1 in which
Kohli managed to accumulate 243 runs at 60.75. During the series, Kohli
scored his eighth ODI century and his second at Visakhapatnam, where he
made 117 off 123 balls in India's run-chase of 270, a knock which raised his
reputation as "an expert of the chase". Kohli ended up as the leading run-getter
in ODIs for the year 2011, with 1381 runs from 34 matches at 47.62 including
four centuries and eight fifties.
During tour of Australia in December 2011, Kohli failed to go past 25 in the
first two Tests, as his defensive technique was exposed. While fielding on the
boundary during the second day of the second match, he gestured to the crowd
with his middle finger for which he was fined 50% of his match fee by the
match referee. He top-scored in each of India's innings in the third Test at
Perth, with 44 and 75, even as India got their second consecutive innings
defeat. In the fourth and final match at Adelaide, Kohli scored his maiden Test
century of 116 runs in the first innings. India suffered a 0–4 whitewash and
Kohli, India's top run-scorer in the series, was described as "the lone bright
spot in an otherwise nightmare visit for the tourists".

Kohli was appointed the vice-captain for the 2012 Asia Cup in Bangladesh on
the back of his fine performance in Australia. Kohli was in fine form during the
tournament, finishing as the leading run-scorer with 357 runs at an average of
119. He scored 108 in the first match against Sri Lanka in a 50-run Indian
victory, while India lost their next match to Bangladesh in which he made 66.
In the final group stage match against Pakistan, he scored a personal best 183
off 148 balls, his 11th ODI century. He helped India to chase down 330, their
highest successful ODI run-chase at the time. His knock was the highest
individual score in Asia Cup history surpassing previous record of 144 by
Younis Khan in 2004, the jointsecond highest score, with Dhoni, in an ODI
run-chase and the highest individual score against Pakistan in ODIs. Kohli was
awarded the man of the match in both the matches that India won, but India
could not progress to the final of the tournament.
In July–August 2012, Kohli struck two centuries in the five-match ODI tour of
Sri Lanka–106 off 113 balls at Hambantota and 128* off 119 balls at
Colombo–winning man of the match in both games. India won the series 4–1
and Kohli was named player of the series. In the one-off T20I that followed,
he scored a 48-ball 68, his first T20I fifty, and won the player of the series
award. Kohli scored his second Test century at Bangalore during New
Zealand's tour of India and won man of the match award. India won the two-
match series 2–0, and Kohli averaged 106 with one hundred and two fifties
from three innings. In the subsequent T20I series, he scored 70 runs off 41
balls, but India lost the match by one run and the series 1–0. He continued to
be in good form during the 2012 ICC World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka, with
185 runs, the highest among Indian batsmen, from 5 matches at an average of
46.25. He hit two fifties during the tournament, against Afghanistan and
Pakistan, winning man of the match for both innings. He was named in the
ICC 'Team of the Tournament'.
Kohli's Test form dipped during the first three matches of England's tour of
India, between October 2012 and January 2013, with a top score of 20 and
England leading the series 2–1. He scored a patient 103 from 295 balls in the
last match. However, the match ended in a draw and England won their first
Test series in India in 28 years. Against Pakistan in December 2012, Kohli
averaged 18 in the T20Is and 4.33 in the ODIs, being troubled by the fast
bowlers, particularly Junaid Khan, who dismissed him on all three occasions in
the ODI series. Kohli had a quiet ODI series against England, apart from a
match-winning 77* in the third ODI with a total of 155 runs at an average of
38.75.
Kohli scored his fourth Test century (107) at Chennai in the first match of the
home Test series against Australia in February 2013. India completed a 4–0
series sweep, becoming the first team to whitewash Australia in more than four
decades. Kohli averaged 56.80 in the series.
In June 2013, Kohli featured in the ICC Champions Trophy in England which
India won. He scored a 144 against Sri Lanka in warm-up match. He scored 31,
22 and 22* in India's group matches against South Africa, West Indies and
Pakistan respectively, while India qualified for the semi-finals with an
undefeated record. In the semi-final against Sri Lanka at Cardiff, he struck 58*
in an eight-wicket win for India. The final between India and England at
Birmingham was reduced to 20 overs after a rain delay. India batted first and
Kohli top-scored with 43 from 34 ball, helping India reach 129/7 in 20 overs.
India went on to secure a five-run win and their second consecutive ICC ODI
tournament victory. He was also named as part of the 'Team of the
Tournament' by the ICC. Setting records
Kohli batting against South Africa in Cardiff during the Champions Trophy in
June 2013
Kohli stood-in as the captain for the first ODI of the triangular series in the
West Indies after Dhoni injured himself during the match. India lost the match
by one wicket, and Dhoni was subsequently ruled out of the series with Kohli
being named the captain for the remaining matches. In his second match as
captain, Kohli scored his first century as captain, making 102 off 83 balls
against the West Indies at Port of Spain in a bonus point win for India. Many
senior players, including Dhoni, were rested for the five-match ODI tour of
Zimbabwe in July 2013, with Kohli being appointed captain for an entire series
for the first time. In the first game of the series at Harare, he struck 115 runs
from 108 balls, helping India chase down the target of 229 and winning the
man of the match award. He batted on two more occasions in the series in
which he had scores of 14 and 68*. India completed a 5–0 sweep of the series;
their first in an away ODI series.
Kohli had a successful time with the bat in the seven-match ODI series against
Australia. After top-scoring with 61 in the opening loss at Pune, he struck the
fastest century by an Indian in ODIs in the second match at Jaipur. Reaching
the milestone in just 52 balls and putting up an unbroken 186-run second-
wicket partnership with Rohit Sharma that came in 17.2 overs, Kohli's innings
of 100* helped India chase down the target of 360 for the loss of one wicket
with more than six overs to spare. This chase was the second-highest
successful run-chase in ODI cricket at the time, while Kohli's knock became
the fastest century against Australia and the third-fastest in a run-chase. He
followed that innings with 68 in the next match at Mohali in another Indian
defeat. In the sixth ODI at Nagpur, he struck 115 off only 66 balls to help India
successfully chase the target of 351 and level the series 2–2 and won the man
of the match. He reached the 100-run mark in 61 balls, making it the third-
fastest ODI century by an
Indian batsman, and also became the fastest batsman in the world to score 17
hundreds in ODI cricket. India clinched the series after winning the last match
in which he was run out for a duck. At the conclusion of the series, Kohli
moved to the top position in the ICC ODI batsmen rankings for the first time in
his career.
Kohli batted twice in the two-match Test series against the West Indies, and
had scores of 3 and 57. This was also the last Test series for Tendulkar and
Kohli was expected to take Tendulkar's number 4 batting position after the
series. In the first game of the three-match ODI series that followed at Kochi,
Kohli made 86 to seal a six-wicket win and won the man of the match. He
missed out on his third century at Visakhapatnam in the next match, after being
dismissed for 99 playing a hook shot off Ravi
Rampaul. India lost the match by two wickets, but took the series 2–1 after
winning the last match at Kanpur. With 204 runs at 68.00, Kohli finished the
series as the leading run-getter and was awarded the man of the series.

2013–14 overseas seasons


India toured South Africa in December 2013 for three ODIs and two Tests.
Kohli averaged 15.50 in the ODIs, including a duck. In the first Test at
Johannesburg, playing his first Test in South Africa and batting at 4 for the first
time, Kohli scored 119 and 96. His hundred was the first by a subcontinent
batsman at the venue since 1998. The match ended in a draw, and Kohli was
awarded man of the match. India failed to win a single match on the tour,
losing the second Test by 10 wickets in which he made 46 and 11.
During New Zealand tour, he averaged 58.21 in the five-match ODI series in
which his all efforts went in vain as India were defeated 4–0. He made 214
runs at 71.33 in the two-match Test series that followed including an
unbeaten 105 on the last day of the second Test at Wellington that helped
India save the match.
India then traveled to Bangladesh for the Asia Cup and World Twenty20.
Dhoni was ruled out of the Asia Cup after suffering a side strain during the
New Zealand tour, which led to Kohli being named the captain for the
tournament. Kohli scored 136 off 122 balls in India's opening match against
Bangladesh, sharing a 213-run third-wicket stand with Ajinkya Rahane, which
helped India successfully chase 280. It was his 19th ODI century and his fifth
in Bangladesh, making him the batsman with most ODI centuries in
Bangladesh. India were knocked out of the tournament after narrow losses
against Sri Lanka and Pakistan, in which Kohli scored 48 and 5 respectively.
Dhoni returned from injury to captain the team for 2014 ICC World Twenty20
and Kohli was named vice-captain. He scored 54 off 41 balls in the game
against West Indies and an unbeaten 57 from 50 balls against Bangladesh, both
in successful run-chases. In the semi-final, he made an unbeaten 72 in 44
deliveries to help India achieve the target of 173. He won the man of the match
for this knock. India posted 130/4 in the final against Sri Lanka, in which Kohli
scored 77 from 58 balls, and eventually lost the match by six wickets. Kohli
made a total of 319 runs in the tournament at an average of 106.33, a record for
most runs by an individual batsman in a single World Twenty20 tournament,
for which he won the Man of the Tournament award.
India conceded a 3–1 defeat in the five-match Test series against England.
Kohli failed poorly in the series averaging just 13.40 in 10 innings scoring 134
runs overall with a top score of 39. It was a nightmare tour for him as he was
dismissed for single-digit scores on six occasions in the series and was
particularly susceptible to the swinging ball on off stump line, being dismissed
several times edging the ball to the wicket-keeper or slip fielders.
Man of the series James Anderson got Kohli's wicket four times, while Kohli's
batting technique was questioned by analysts and former cricketers. India won
the ODI series that followed 3–1, but Kohli's struggles with the bat continued
with an average of 18 in four innings. In the one-off T20I, he scored 41-ball
66, his first fifty-plus score of the tour. India lost the match by three runs, but
Kohli reached the number one spot for T20I batsmen in the ICC rankings.
Kohli had a successful time during India's home ODI series win over the West
Indies in October 2014. His 62 in the second ODI at Delhi was his first fifty
across Tests and ODIs in 16 innings since February, and he stated that he got
his "confidence back" with the innings. He struck his 20th ODI hundred–127
runs in 114 balls–in the fourth match at Dharamsala. India registered a 59-run
victory and Kohli was awarded man of the match. Dhoni was rested for the
five-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in November, enabling Kohli to lead
the team for another full series. Kohli batted at 4 throughout the series and
made scores of 22, 49, 53 and 66 in the first four ODIs, with India leading the
series 4–0. In the fifth ODI at Ranchi, he made an unbeaten 139 off 126 balls to
give his team a threewicket win and a whitewash of Sri Lanka. Kohli was
awarded player of the series, and it was the second whitewash under his
captaincy. During the series he became the fastest batter in the world to go past
the 6000-run mark in ODIs. With 1054 ODI runs at 58.55 in 2014, he became
the second player in the world after Sourav Ganguly to make more than 1,000
runs in ODIs for four consecutive calendar years.
Australia tour of 2014–15
For the first Test of the Australian tour in December 2014, Dhoni was not part
of the Indian team at Adelaide due to an injury, and Kohli took the reins as
Test captain for the first time. Kohli scored 115 in India's first innings,
becoming the fourth Indian to score a hundred on Test captaincy debut. In their
second innings, India were set a target of 364 to be scored on the fifth day.
Kohli put on 185 runs for the third wicket with Murali Vijay before Vijay's
dismissal, which triggered a batting collapse. From 242/2, India was bowled
out for 315 with Kohli's 141 off 175 balls being the top score.
Dhoni returned to the team as captain for the second match at Brisbane where
Kohli scored 19 and 1 in a four-wicket defeat for India. In the Melbourne
Boxing Day Test, he made his personal best Test score of 169 in the first
innings while sharing a 262-run partnership with Rahane, India's biggest
partnership outside Asia in ten years. Kohli followed it with a score of 54 in
India's second innings on the fifth day, helping his team draw the Test match.
Dhoni announced his retirement from Test cricket at the conclusion of this
match, and Kohli was appointed as the full-time Test captain ahead of the
fourth Test at Sydney. Captaining the Test team for the second time, Kohli hit
147 in the first innings of the match and became the first batsman in Test
cricket history to score three hundreds in his first three innings as Test captain.
He was dismissed for 46 in the second innings and the match ended in a draw.
Kohli's total of 692 runs in four Tests was the most by any Indian batsman in a
Test series in Australia.
In January 2015, India failed to win a single match in the tri-nation ODI series
against the hosts Australia and England. Kohli was unable to replicate his
Test success in ODIs, failing to make a two-digit score in any of the four
games. Kohli's ODI form did not improve in the lead-up to the World Cup,
with scores of 18 and 5 in the warm-up matches against Australia and
Afghanistan respectively.
In the first match of the World Cup against Pakistan at Adelaide, Kohli hit 107
in 126 balls. For his knock, he was awarded the man of the match award. Kohli
also became first Indian batsman to score a century against Pakistan in a World
Cup match. He was dismissed for 46 in India's second match against South
Africa. India went on to register a 130-run victory in the match. India batted
second in their remaining four group matches in which Kohli scored 33*, 33,
44* and 38 against UAE, West Indies, Ireland and Zimbabwe respectively.
India went on to secure wins in these four fixtures and top the Pool B points
with an undefeated record. In India's 109-run victory in the quarter-final over
Bangladesh, Kohli was dismissed by Rubel Hossain for 3, edging the ball to
the wicket-keeper. India was eliminated in the semi-final by Australia at
Melbourne, where Kohli was dismissed for 1 off 13 balls.
After 2015 Cricket World Cup
Kohli had a slump in form when India toured Bangladesh in June 2015. He
contributed only 14 in the one-off Test which ended in a draw and averaged
16.33 in the ODI series which Bangladesh won 2–1. Kohli ended his streak of
low scores by scoring his 11th Test hundred in the first Test of the Sri Lankan
tour which India lost. India won the next two matches to seal the series 2–1,
Kohli's first series win as Test captain and India's first away Test series win in
four years.
During South Africa's tour of India, Kohli became the fastest batsman in the
world at that time to make 1,000 runs in T20I cricket, reaching the milestone in
his 27th innings. In the ODI series, he made a century in the fourth ODI at
Chennai that helped India draw level in the series. India lost the series after a
defeat in the final ODI and Kohli finished the series with an average of 49.
India came back to beat the top-ranked South African team 3–0 in the four-
match Test series under Kohli's captaincy, and climbed to number two position
on the ICC Test rankings. Virat scored a total of 200 runs in the series at 33.33.
Kohli started 2016 with scores of 91 and 59 in the first two ODIs of the
limited-overs tour of Australia. He followed it up with a pair of hundreds–a
run-a-ball 117 at Melbourne and 106 from 92 balls at Canberra. During the
course of the series, he became the fastest batsman in the world to cross the
7000-run mark in ODIs, getting to the milestone in his 161st innings, and the
fastest to get to 25 centuries. After the ODI series ended in a 1–4 loss, the
Indian team came back to whitewash the Australians 3–0 in the T20I series.
Kohli made fifties in all three T20Is with scores of 90*, 59* and 50, winning
two man of the matches as well as the man of the series award. He was also
instrumental in India winning the Asia Cup in Bangladesh the following month
in which he scored 49 in a run-chase of 84 against
Pakistan, followed by an unbeaten 56 against Sri Lanka and 41 not out in the
Final against Bangladesh.
Kohli maintained his form in the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 in India, scoring
55* in another successful run-chase against Pakistan. He struck an unbeaten 82
from 51 balls in India's must-win group match against Australia in "an innings
of sheer class" with "clean cricket shots". It helped India win by six wickets
and register a spot in the semi-final. In the semifinal, Kohli top-scored with an
unbeaten 89 from 47 deliveries, but West Indies overhauled India's total of 192
and ended India's campaign. His total of 273 runs in five matches at an average
of 136.50 earned him his second consecutive Man of the Tournament award at
the World Twenty20. He was named as captain of the 'Team of the
Tournament' for the 2016 World Twenty20 by the ICC.

2019 Cricket World Cup


In April 2019, he was named the captain of India's squad for the 2019
Cricket World Cup. On 16 June 2019, in India's match against Pakistan, Kohli
became the fastest batsman, in terms of innings, to score 11,000 runs in ODI
cricket. He reached the landmark in his 222nd innings. Eleven days later, in the
match against the West Indies, Kohli became the fastest cricketer, in terms of
innings, to score 20,000 runs in international cricket, doing so in his 417th
innings. Kohli scored five consecutive fifty plus score in the tournament. India
lost the semi-final against New Zealand, in which Kohli was out for just a run.
Post 2019 World Cup performances
In October 2019, Kohli captained India for the 50th time in Test cricket, in the
second Test against South Africa. In the first innings of the match, Kohli
scored an unbeaten 254 runs, passing 7,000 runs in Tests in the process, and
became the first batsman for India to score seven double centuries in Test
cricket. In November 2019, during the day/night Test match against
Bangladesh, Kohli became the fastest captain to score 5,000 runs in Test
cricket, doing so in his 86th innings. In the same match, he also scored his 70th
century in international cricket.
India toured to New Zealand from January to March 2020 to play 5-match T20
series along with a 3 and 2-match ODI and test series respectively. During the
tour, he only managed 218 across formats in 12 innings at an average of 19.81
with one half-century during first ODI. This was his lowest aggregate of runs
in a tour where he played in all formats. India managed to win the T20I series
5–0, but during the ODI and Test leg of the tour they lost by 3–0 and 2–0
respectively. Indian Premier League

Virat as the captain of RCB at 2015 IPL Opening Ceremony


Following the Under-19 World Cup, Kohli was bought by the
franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore for $30,000 on a youth contract. He
was the captain of Royal challengers Bangalore for 8 seasons but could not win
a trophy.
Kohli had a poor 2008 season, with a total of 165 runs in 12 innings at an
average of 15.00 and a strike rate of 105.09. He did slightly better in the second
season in which he made a total of 246 runs at 22.36, striking at over 112,
while his team made it as far as the final. In the 2010 season, Kohli was the
third highest run-getter for his team with 307 runs, averaging 27.90 and
improving his strike rate to 144.81.
Kohli was the second-highest run-getter of the season, only behind teammate
Chris Gayle, and his team finished as runners-up. Kohli scored total 557 runs at
an average of 46.41 and at the strike rate of over 121 including four fifties. In
the 2012 IPL, he averaged 28 and scored 364 runs.
During 2013 season, Kohli averaged 45.28 and hit a total of 634 runs at a strike
rate of over 138 including six fifties and a top-score of 99 and finished as the
season's third-highest run-scorer.[323]
In IPL 2014, Kohli scored 359 runs in 14 matches by the batting average of
27.61, his strike rate was 122.10, He scored two 50 in this season and 73 was
his best score.
Bangalore finished seventh in the next season in which Kohli made 359 runs at
27.61. He found success with the bat in the 2015 IPL in which he led his team
to the playoffs. He finished fifth on the season's leading rungetters list with 505
runs at an average of 45.90 and a strike rate of more than 130.
At the 2016 IPL, the Royal Challengers finished runners-up and Kohli broke
the record for most runs in an IPL season (of 733 runs) by scoring 973 runs in
16 matches at an average of 81.08, winning the Orange Cap as well as Most-
valuable Player Award of Vivo IPL 2016. He scored four centuries in the
tournament, having never scored one in the Twenty20 format before the start of
the season, and also became the first player to reach the 4000-run milestone in
the IPL. At the launch event of his biography, Driven: The Virat Kohli Story in
New Delhi, in October 2016, Kohli announced that RCB would be the IPL
franchise that he would permanently play for.
Kohli missed the start of the 2017 season due to a shoulder
injury. Moreover, RCB finished the tournament at the bottom of the table, with
Kohli scoring the most runs for his team, with 308 from 10 matches. On the
occasion of the 10 year anniversary of IPL, he was also named in the all-time
Cricinfo IPL XI.
In the 2018 season, Kohli was retained by RCB for a price of ₹170 million
(US$2.1 million), the highest for any player that year. Kohli scored 530 runs in
the season and became the first batsman to score more than 500 runs in 5
different seasons. Moreover, RCB failed to qualify for Playoffs and finished
sixth on the points table.
On 28 March 2019, Kohli became the second player to reach 5000 IPL runs
after Suresh Raina. In the same season, Kohli surpassed Raina to become
leading runs scorer in IPL when he scored 84 runs in a match against KKR.
In IPL 2020, he scored 466 runs in 15 games by average of 42.36, his strike
rate in this season was 121.35.
On 22 April 2021, against Rajasthan Royals, Kohli became the first ever
player to reach 6000 IPL Runs. On 20 September, Royal Challengers
Bangalore announced that Kohli would step down as captain following the
2021 IPL season.
In 2022 season, he scored 341 runs in 16 innings with the average of 21.31 and
strike rate 115. In the match against Punjab Kings at Brabourne Stadium, he
scored his 6500th IPL run. In the last league match of the tournament against
Gujarat Titans, Kohli completed 7000 runs for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Playing style usually bats at the no.3 position in ODI cricket. He bats with a
slightly open-chested stance and a strong bottom-hand grip. He is not a big
hitter and plays more grounded shots. He plays wrist shots more. He is known
for while chasing pace inning and batting under pressure. He is strong through
the mid-wicket and cover region. He has said that the cover drive is his
favourite shot, while also saying that the flick shot comes naturally to him. He
does not play the sweep shot often. Kohli is strong on leg stump line bowling.
If bowled at leg stump he plays flick shot. Kohli often struggles on very wide
outside the off stump line balling, thus got out on multiple times on 3rd to 7th
off stump.

Kohli is considered as aggressive batsman with strong technical skills. He


He scores more in area between deep square leg to mid-on. According to
cricket pundit VVS Laxman, against the fast bowlers for Virat Kohli, balling
line outside the off stump is his weakness. He was dismissed by an outside off
stump line ball, and the opposition team's bowler’s tries to exploit his weakness
in Tests, as well as ODIs. Out swinging balls his one of the weakness as per
Richard Hadlee. Cricket pundit and former India Cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar
feels the same that offside off stump line is his weakness. Kohli is also known
to be a "sharp" fielder.
Many pundits have suggested that Kohli may be the best limited-overs batsman
in the world. In ODIs, he averages around 66 in matches batting second as
opposed to around 48 batting first. 26 of his 43 ODI hundreds have come in
run-chases and he holds the record for most hundreds batting second.
Test cricket is his favourite format.
His teammates have praised his confidence, commitment, focus and work
ethics. Personal life couple soon earned the portmanteau "Virushka". Their
relationship attracted substantial media attention, with persistent rumours and
speculations in the media, as neither of the two publicly talked about it. The
couple married on 11 December 2017 in a private ceremony in Florence,
Italy. On 11 January 2021, their first child, a girl, was born.

Kohli started dating Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma in 2013; the


In 2018, Kohli revealed that he completely stopped consuming meat to cut
down his uric acid levels which caused him a cervical spine issue and started
affecting his finger and, in turn, his batting. In 2021, he clarified that he is a
vegetarian and not a vegan.
Kohli has admitted that he is superstitious. He used to wear black wristbands as
a cricket superstition; earlier, he used to wear the same pair of gloves with
which he had "been scoring". Apart from a religious black thread, he has also
been wearing a kara on his right arm since 2012.
Kohli has a lot of tattoos on his body, he has tattoos of God Shiva in dhyan
mudra on Kailash parvat because he worships Lord Shiva, Om, his parents
names (Prem and Saroj), an Aadivasi sign, a monastery, Samurai warrior, the
word 'Scorpion', and his ODI and Test cap numbers on his body.
Commercial investments
In 2014 Kohli became a co-owner of the Indian Super League club FC
Goa. He stated that he invested in the club because he "wanted football to grow
in India".] He added, "It's a business venture for me for the future. Cricket's not
going to last forever and I'm keeping all my options open after retirement."
In September 2015, Kohli became a co-owner of the International Premier
Tennis League franchise UAE Royals, and, in December that year, became a
co-owner of the JSW-owned Bengaluru Yodhas franchise in Pro Wrestling
League.
In November 2014, Kohli and Anjana Reddy's Universal Sportsbiz (USPL)
launched a youth fashion brand WROGN. The brand started to produce men's
casual wear clothing in 2015 and has tied up with Myntra and Shopper's Stop.
In late 2014, Kohli was announced as a shareholder and brand ambassador of
the social networking venture 'Sport Convo' based in London.
In 2015, Kohli invested ₹900 million (US$11 million) to start a chain of
gyms and fitness centres across the country.Launched under the name Chisel,
the chain of gyms is jointly owned by Kohli, Chisel India and CSE
(Cornerstone Sport and Entertainment), the agency which manages Kohli's
commercial interests.
In 2016, Kohli started Stepathlon Kids, a children fitness venture, in
partnership with Stepathlon Lifestyle.
In the year 2017, Virat Kohli along with a collaboration with popular German
sportswear Puma launched his athleisure brand One8. The items consist of
active wear and are sports-related, like apparel, footwear and accessories.
One8 Commune is a chain of rest-bar that is owned by Kohli. The first outlet of
this restaurant was launched in 2017. It was Kohli's first venture in the food
and beverage industry. The restaurant serves a classy yet modern ambiance and
is suitable for all age groups.
Philanthropy

Virat Kohli at charity dinner for Smile Foundation.


He started a charitable foundation called “Virat Kohli Foundation” in
2013. The charity football match was played between Indian cricketers and
Bollywood actors was an initiative to gather funds for the causes which the
Virat Kohli Foundation supports. The first big event to generate funds for
charity organized by the VKF was the celebrity football match to raise funds
along with Abhishek Bachchan’s charity foundation.
The match attracted media attention and was a success in raising funds. Virat
Kohli along with MS Dhoni and other major cricketers played that match
against Abhishek Bachchan and other Bollywood celebrities. Kohli led his side
– the All Hearts FC – to glory against the All Stars FC.
Another charity football match was also planned to raise funds. The match was
termed as “Celebrity Clasico” which was held on 4 June 2016 in Mumbai. The
All Hearts FC led by Virat Kohli played against Ranbir Kapoor led All Stars
FC. This match was also a huge success in gaining funds for welfare causes.

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